2015-03-04

Iman Balal Khokhor said they don't want their religion to be misunderstood in light of recent violent attacks by extremists in the name of Islam.

"Canadians have a fear of Muslims. They don't know them. They don't know their culture, their religion, and we want to showcase that in fact we are Canadian and just like any other Canadians," said Khokhor.

Let's play along, then. Third Edge of the Sword presents, meet a Muslim family:

Meet Mohammad Shafia and his wives Rona and Tooba. Meet their daughters Zainab, Sahar, Getti, and their son Hamed. Some of them are more talkative than others. Only the names in blue are still alive: they had the ones in black honour killed in 2009

Meet Pakistani Muslim Abdul Malik Rustam. You can also meet his unnamed child by visiting Abdul's mother-in-law. You just missed Mrs. Rustam though: Shaher Bano Shahdady was murdered. If you can settle for a little cross-dressing though, Rustam is capable of playing both halves of his arranged marriage.

Neither he nor his family are very accessable, but you may wish to meet Badi Hammadieh, a Syrian who runs a vacuum cleaner repair shop in Calgary. You're not alone if you want to meet him, he's in high demand: mostly from the parents of the kids who are now dead since he recruited them to fight for Mohammed (death be upon him) against God and the forces of decency.

Meet Muhammad Parvez and his son Waqas, who would be glad to talk to you about any topic under the sun...except, of course, Aqsa Parvez, their deceased daughter for whom the family won't even put up a gravestone.

Meet Chiheb Esseghaier's friend Raed Jaser, who came to Canada from the United Arab Emirates with his parents on forged documents (they claimed to be Palestinian) claiming refugee status in 1993. His parents became Canadian citizens, and Mohammed Jaser is involved with the Muslim support group P4E. As per Raed's best friend growing up, Raed was a good boy who never wanted to hurt innocent people. The official who pardon's him for fraud and death threats in 2004 obviously agreed.

Meet Swara Peshdary, an Ottawa man who along with his wife and two children came to Canada from Kuwait. The family is close-knit, anxious to visit their son Awso Peshdary when he was investigated as part of Project Samossa. The couple also has a grandchild and a daughter-in-law, who loves spending time with them since it means her husband is less likely to beat her.

I could go on, but I think now you'll fully appreciate how many amazing Muslim families there are right here in your very own country. I certainly agree it would be eye-opening to meet some of them, though you should be careful as it may open several other body parts you may prefer to remain closed.